Sunday, June 30, 2024

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 30, 2024): Beach Fun

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 30, 2024): Beach Fun
Q: Name a state capital. Remove its first two letters, and you can rearrange the rest to name something in two words that you might find while beachcombing in that state. What is it?
Burt Reynolds has a connection to the capital.

Edit: Burt Renolds played football at F.S.U.
A: TALAHASSEE - TA --> A SEASHELL

160 comments:

  1. Rearrange the first three and sixth letters to get something you might be told if you tried to take the two-word item.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Remove all instances of repeated letters, reverse the result, and get a popular abbreviation.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Easy. States having a beach...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Do we submit our answers here on WEDNESDAY at 3:00 EDT since Thursday is the 4th, a holiday????

      Delete
    2. I hate to be the one to say this, Blaine, but your mention of the Bandit himself gave the answer right to me.
      pjbWouldn'tWantBlaineToGetInTroubleWithSheriffBufordT.Justice!

      Delete
  4. If you only remove one of those first two letters, there is a remarkable connection to the on-air puzzle.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Rearrange the even letters of the capital. You get something I am about to use on our morning run.

    ReplyDelete
  6. My routine: Svengoolie on Saturday night, NPR puzzle on Sunday morning. Amusing puzzle!

    ReplyDelete
  7. An example of how the utensil puzzle could have been better worded.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have the intended answer. I found an alternate answer, but the probability of finding the item while beachcombing is very low. But you still might find it.

    For the intended answer, rearrange the state capital to describe something you might do while hiking through the forest.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  10. One of the keys to solving this puzzle is not overthinking it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Will inserts more words on air (to the puzzle).

    ReplyDelete
  12. Remove the second letter of the capital and rearrange to get 2 similar things you might find at a beach.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tallahassee-a->slate, shale. This was in the NPR on-air puzzle.

      Delete
  13. Unfortunately Blaine's clue has nothing to do with celebrity jeopardy although his misreading of therapists is akin to this week's puzzle

    ReplyDelete
  14. Think you might find some ACTOR MEN on California beaches?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How about ONE GROUT in Louisiana?

      Delete
    2. I could go on, but I don't want to strain the process of elimination.)

      Delete
    3. I once found a REAL TOT on the beach in North Carolina, but I threw it back.

      Delete
    4. And on the beach one morning in Maine, I felt A GUST.

      Delete
    5. I once attended a NUPTIAL at a lake in Minnesota.

      Delete
    6. Does it count if you find NO NET on the Jersey shore?

      Delete
    7. Piling on, there's been more than one occasion where I've seen SOME SIN on the beaches around Lake Okoboji, IA. (Subjective perhaps but given the ghastly conservative turn my home state has taken over the last few decades, I think many of the residents would see it that way.)

      Delete
    8. Though I've never been there, I dare say part of South Carolina's capital would look like MALIBU.
      pjb'sGladHeNeverGot[LOST][NEAR]WestVirginia

      Delete
    9. NO DEVICE on a Rhode Island beach!

      Delete
    10. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    11. Dr. K>, was that before or after a SYNC RIOT in Nevada?

      Delete
    12. Wolfgang, maybe during? Curiously, I did see a lone star in West Virginia.

      Delete
    13. It's a good thing West Virginia is inland ... permute "lone star" to get a beach bum

      Delete
    14. In Maine, besides A GUST, a license plate could turn up, and some people call that a US TAG.

      Delete
    15. Keep going, and y'all can eliminate 49 of the 50 states...

      Delete

  15. Rearrange the odd letters of the state capital to get something that could happen in baseball game.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I have taken a good handful of pictures of that something. It was in that state. One of the pictures I took is the current desktop picture on my phone.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Would've been a twist if this were a landlocked state!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It would be a stretch, but it's possible.

      Delete
    2. Most states have at least one lake with a beach. I haven't checked all of them, so it's possible that one exists without a beach. I doubt it, though.

      Delete
    3. (with a nod to a certain famous tongue-twister!)

      Delete
  18. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Am I the first to object to the notion that the rearranged letters form two words?

    Anyway, believe it or not, I have to confess that I always feel rejuvenated after visiting this state's oldest city.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought about that, but then I re-read the puzzle wording.

      Delete
    2. No way, - you're right, I forgot something.

      Delete
  20. Replies
    1. I saw the movie a few years later. It made the Cuban Missile Crisis that much scarier. During Covid lockdown, biking through empty streets, "Waltzing Matilda" kept playing in my head.

      Delete
    2. It came out the same time as Ben Hur. I was 14 and watched both movies. I also read both books. I was not all that enamored by Ben Hur (Sorry, General Lew Wallace.) but could not get enough of On the Beach. I only wished, and still do, that it had been filmed in color. Why has it not been colorized yet? And a little trivia bit: The part where the sub went up to San Francisco was Seattle in the book by Nevil Shute.

      Delete
    3. I have been meaning to chime in on this—I find On the Beach (1959) a great film. In its apocalyptic mood, I think black and white is suitable for it.

      On the Beach was remade in 2000 as a made-for-TV film. It is interesting how it captures essentially the same (if updated) story, and at the same time depicts different nuances. Still chilling; definitely an adaptation worth watching.

      Delete
  21. In 2 words? Yikes! This puzzle has no answer in only 2 words. 3, yes, but 2? Yikes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. (In)definitely the answer is two words.

      Delete
    2. I thought the same thing, but sometimes what you think are two words are (is?) really a single compound word.

      Delete
    3. A certain "man" may find an article while beachcombing.

      Delete
    4. "A SEASHELL" - When I typed "(In)definitely the answer is two words" I was noting that "A" is an indefinite article. My follow-up was saying that "Florida Man" might find an article, indefinite in this case.

      Delete
  22. Because this one is so easy, we should find alternative answers.
    I found a nice dove on Moonstone Beach in South Kingstown.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, well, I see Jan already basically started a thread on the topic, so consider my entry to be up there in Jan's thread.

      Delete
  23. There are different ways to look at this puzzle.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Global warming gives high tide a whole new meaning.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I see a NICE DOVE on plenty of beaches, landlocked or no

    ReplyDelete
  26. Folks, I'm back .Had open heart surgery June 6th; I think I'm still under the influence of anesthesia for this one. But it is good to be back. Yes the surgical instruments were made of Kyptonite. Wouldn't wish this surgery on my worst enemy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great news! All the best, Cap.

      Delete
    2. Glad beyond words to be hearing from you.
      Continue healing and gaining strength.

      Delete
    3. Cap, sublime news. Welcome back!

      Delete
    4. Ditto, ditto, ditto, Cap. We missed your wise presence!

      LegoThinksThatNowWithCapBackEverythingIs"Capacetic!"

      Delete
    5. Well, sure, you wouldn't want your worst enemy to have lifesaving surgery

      Delete
    6. jan, Sorry to parse that, but how about if it were Trump and they botched it big time? Just asking.

      Delete
    7. Cap, my better half sends her best wishes too.

      Delete
    8. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    9. Cap! Wonderful to hear from you! So thankful you are recovering. (Spelling errors in other post.)

      Delete
    10. Excellent Cap! ❤️‍🩹

      Delete
    11. I join the chorus, Cap. Live long and prosper. And enjoy !

      Delete
    12. Great to see you back and blogging, Cap!

      Delete
    13. CAP, I second (third, fourth, fifth...) all the welcome-back cheers! 👏
      How's that for looking forward to Independence Day! 😃🇺🇸

      Delete
  27. Good to hear from you! Keep getting better!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Yes, Cap, we've all been wondering about you. I hope I can return my new black suit now. Good to hear it all is working for you.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Great to hear, Clark. You'll have that cape back on in no time!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Very close yet quite far from another recent puzzle.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah that's good, I was trying to think of how to allude to that recent puzzle without TMI.

      Delete
  31. Well, I just guaranteed I won't get called ever to play the puzzle. I wrote this morning to express my view that it's just absurd that they're talking about trains with googly eyes when the country is facing an enormous threat politically and the planet is on fire. That, the sports segments and StoryCorps have pushed me over the edge. I just can't listen anymore. Too much fluff.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Whoa there, Splainit. You ain't the only who's tired of trivialities in our time of grave crisis. We have two men running for the highest office in the world, not to mention our great country, who are both very unappealing, dare I say downright appalling! Let's face it, there's not a lot about Biden to get excited over, unless you're Joe Scarborough. Forget the other one, if you can. To go about our daily lives, at least for me, seems like fiddling while Rome burns. One triviality that bugs me is all this talk about extraterrestrials and UFOs. John Lennon said, "The more real you get, the more unreal they get." The context was if any of the Beatles mentioned a serious issue, Vietnam, civil rights, etc., they (the Beatles, or the subject itself) would be dealt with trivially, as if those things were not as important as entertainment. There are enough problems on Earth, uncontrollable fires in Brazil, the Gaza region, the Ukraine. The best thing for me is the Liturgy of the Hours, the Rosary and Lectio.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. But did you write NPR to say you won't contribute anymore? 😂

      Delete
    2. Up the Rebels! I would really like to know what Dr. Jill intends to do when the 3:00 a.m. call comes.

      Delete
    3. Ths Supreme Court is a puppet of Trump et al. This country is in disaster mode. I felt better reading the posts above knowing there is concern somewhere. I will write to NPR to voice my humble opinion.

      Delete
    4. Splaint, you are absolutely right and again the media are going to give the election to the insurrectionists, traitors and racists. And do not listen to our resident Trumpie who responded to your post above.

      Delete
    5. I awoke this morning thinking of How Democracies Die, by Steven Levitsky, 2018. One of his main points is that when social norms are ignored it leads to a democracy failing. He gives several examples of this happening in our country now. What the Supreme Court did yesterday is an extreme example of killing a social norm. But let's get back to sports.

      Delete
    6. Historian Heather Cox Richardson, in her daily "Letters From An American" post today, seemed unusually upset.

      Delete
    7. She has been lately. She is one of the most brilliant and well spoken commentators today. I have wanted to post and link to her recently, but can't get the link right.

      Delete
    8. Here is one paragraph from the middle of her July 1 post that I believe jan is referring to. I think perhaps while Joe Biden is our POTUS he should put it to the test. I don't think I would be any more upset than I am now:

      Today, observers illustrated what Trump’s newly declared immunity could mean. Political scientist Norm Ornstein pointed out that Trump could “order his handpicked FBI Director to arrest and jail his political opponents. He can order the IRS to put liens on the property of media companies who criticize him and jail reporters and editors.” Legal analyst Joyce White Vance noted that a president with such broad immunity could order the assassination of Supreme Court justices, and retired military leader Mark Hertling wrote that he was “trying to figure out how a commander can refuse an illegal order from someone who is issuing it as an official act.”

      Delete
    9. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

      Delete
    10. Putin, Kim, Xi, Modi, Ted Cruz. Let me know if I left anyone out.

      Delete
    11. Viktor Orbán. And that makes the Governor of Louisiana a TRUE GOON.

      Delete
  33. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. I wonder if Biden can use the SCOTUS for his advantage now.

      Delete
    3. Not with the current court, Natasha. They serve only Trump.

      Delete
    4. Sure. Just like he can obtain the support of Marjorie Tailor Greene and Ted Cruz.

      Delete
    5. Seems like Biden can be creative now.

      Delete
    6. How so, Natasha? The Supreme Court has taken over the country. Six of the nine who are supposed to protect the rest of us by determining the law according to our constitution have now used their unchecked power to overthrow our constitution.

      Delete
    7. He may be proactive on the threats made by dt to dems.

      Delete
    8. It just occurred to me that this country which began by defying its monarch, King George of England, is now more of a monarchy than England is today.

      Delete
    9. SDB: I have friends considering leaving USA.

      Delete
    10. My daughter-in-law's grandmother (age 98 now) fled Austria during the Holocaust. That makes her grandchildren eligible for Austrian citizenship today, and many of them are applying.

      Delete
    11. If you're rich, several countries offer Immigrant investor programs ("golden passports/visa").

      Delete
  34. Love Ayesha, but remove the first two letters of a State capital, you get the NPR Puzzle as of Fall 2021 on.

    ReplyDelete
  35. TALLAHASSEE - TA = A SEASHELL

    "CC" points to the Roman Numeral 200. TALLAHASSEE became Florida's capital 200 years ago in 1824.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great clue, WW!
      (Now try not to post the answer before 3PM ET. 😉)

      Delete
  36. TALLAHASSEE —> A SEASHELL

    Hint: “Remove all instances of repeated letters, reverse the result, and get a popular abbreviation.” —> ht (hat tip)

    ReplyDelete
  37. TALLAHASSEE, Florida (-TA) → A SEASHELL.

    ReplyDelete
  38. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Name state capital--LANSING (MI)

    Remove first 2 letters (L,A) to name something in rearranged remaining letters you might see beachcombing there.

    (N,S,I,N,G)~~> "G'S INN" I take it my answer was wrong.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Celebrate July FOUR this week with SIX (or SEVEN) sublime puzzles created by ONE very valued and greatly gifted (and patriotic!) Puzzleria! Contributor!
    This contributor's Independence Day conundrums, packed into a Baker’s-Half-Dozen Appetizer Package, are titled “Folklore creature, Feat & Feature” (It's called a "Baker’s-Half-Dozen" because it includes a Bonus Seventh Riff of the sixth conundrum.)
    Because of the Fourth of July holiday, we are uploading both this preview of Puzzleria! (as well as Puzzleria! itself) on Wednesday rather than Thursday. You'll be able to access this newest edition of Puzzleria! within the hour.
    Also on our menu this week:
    * a Schpuzzle of the Week titled “Feathered phoenix? Growling griffin?”
    * an Earth Studies Hors d’Oeuvre titled “Self-defining geology,”
    * a Heriotic Puzzle Slice titled “One creature great, two small,”
    * a Bonus Independence Day Slice titled “Pyrotechnics galore and s’mores,”
    * a Kill-The-Pain-Scratch-The-Itch Dessert titled “Analgesic? Anesthetic? ‘Algiacide’?” and
    * ten riffs of this week's NPR puzzle challenge, titled “Beachcombed seashells & bombshells in the breech,” including contributions from Nodd, from Tortitude, and from the greatly gifted Puzzleria! Contributor who is also the author of this week's Appetizers.
    So drop by. Celebrate the Fourth with a picnic of Puzzler!an proportions (and of puzzling portions that you can really sink your gray matter into)!

    LegoWhosePatrioticMissionIsToEliminateAllIndependenceDayMissouri(IMeanMisery!)

    ReplyDelete
  41. I wrote, “Rearrange the even letters of the capital. You get something I am about to use on our morning run.” That’s the LEASH that goes on my running partner, Moxie the pit bull.

    ReplyDelete
  42. TALLAHASSEE - TA -> A SEASHELL

    > Very close yet quite far from another recent puzzle.

    TALLAHASSEE is more than 9,000 miles from The Seychelles.

    (Oops, forgot about the Wednesday deadline!)

    ReplyDelete
  43. Tallahassee, a seashell
    My hint was in reference to various Freddy Cannon songs ("Svengoolie Stomp" and "Palisades Park"). Freddy's first hit was "Tallahassee Lassie."

    ReplyDelete
  44. In chARLESTON, WV, permute LONE STAR to get a beach bum: TAN LOSER . Wait: WV got no beaches!

    ReplyDelete
  45. TALLAHASSEE - A SEA SHELL

    Alternate Answers: SACRAMENTO - NEMO CART (this is a brand of cart to portage a canoe or kayak. Highly unlikely to find one while beachcombing, but still possible!)

    PROVIDENCE - DIVE CONE (even more improbable, and it is more commonly referred to as a dive bell.)

    I had clued that you could rearrange TALLAHASSEE to something you might do on a hike: SEE A TALL ASH

    ReplyDelete
  46. The remarkable (uncanny, actually) connection to the on-air puzzle was that you can remove just one of the two first letters and rearrange the leftovers to get SLATE and SHALE, which were paired in the on-air puzzle!

    ReplyDelete
  47. My comment: One of the keys to solving this puzzle is not overthinking it. I was referencing the Florida Keys. (Since Florida is My state, Blaine's reference to Burt Reynolds was helpful.)

    ReplyDelete
  48. TALLAHASSEE(FL), A SEASHELL
    pjbWishesEveryoneAHappyIndependenceDayEveToday!

    ReplyDelete
  49. If the media are too stupid to understand it is both futile and too late to replace Joe Biden, the most effective president we have had in decades, with no one specified to replace him, then I will point out that Jimmy Carter only served one term and is still eligible to run again, or I mean shuffle, rather than run. Look, if these idiots can be unrealistic, then I too want in on that suicidal game. Wake up America and support the freedoms we began with, even if they were a lie. Or perhaps we should do what Alito and Thomas, along with so many others want us to do; choose fascism. It is our choice.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. WW:
      Excellent article, and by a former Republican, no less. I would headline it: Back Room Nominations Are Back, But Now Out In The Open.

      Delete
  50. I submitted TALLAHASSEE, A SEASHELL

    But I'm also pretty certain I have come across OIL PANS on a beach in Maryland once.

    ReplyDelete
  51. When I wrote "I prefer a puzzle with a twist," I was thinking of "she sells seashells by the seashore."

    ReplyDelete
  52. When I visited Venice Beach, I saw more than a few ACTOR MEN.

    ReplyDelete
  53. Whoops. The holiday slipped right by without even thinking about the Sunday Challenge. So, for what it's worth...

    Tallahassee --> llahassee --> a seashell

    Last Sunday I said, “boom boom.” This evokes the early rock ‘n’ roller Freddie Boom Boom Cannon and his 1959 Top 10 hit, “Tallahassee Lassie.”

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Funny! I thought you were referring to the sonic booms we hear in Florida from the space launches.

      Delete
  54. Say the name of a well known movie of the last century and phonetically it will describe what they did when LBJ died. Can you name it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barry Lyndon is no longer very well-known.

      Johnson was not as old as he seemed, just 64 at the time of his death, which came the day after he would have left office, had he served a second term.

      His Presidential Library, at the UT Austin campus, is worth a visit.

      Delete
    2. jan,
      You solved it as I suspected you might. However, I never thought he was older than he actually was. He died young and seemed to know he would. Perhaps a self fulfilling prophesy. I have yet to visit any presidential library, and don't give them much thought. He never should have stepped down from running for a second term.

      Delete
    3. They did the same with LBJ’s 1964 rival, BARRY M. (Goldwater).

      Delete
    4. After four years of escalation in Vietnam, and riots in Harlem, Watts, Newark, and Detroit, the country had had it with whoever was in office. If LBJ hadn't stepped down, he might well have lost the nomination to RFK; and if not, would likely have lost to Nixon.

      I've only been to a few presidential libraries. As I said, LBJ's is a good reminder of all the worthy work he did on civil rights and economic inequality. FDR's in Hyde Park, likewise. JFK's here in Boston is skippable.

      Delete
    5. Sure, even though that reminds me of Yogi Berra's line about how if you don't go to people's funerals, they won't go to yours.

      Delete
    6. I love that one. I don't recall having heard it before.

      Delete
    7. (Thinking about what I wrote above, I wonder if LBJ hadn't stepped down, would Sirhan have identified him with US policy toward Israel and assassinated him instead, clearing the way for RFK's win?)

      Delete
    8. I have never spent my time attempting to get into the head of a nutcase like that.

      Delete
    9. Oh, Bobby wasn't much of a statesman, but I wouldn't call him a nutcase. Not like his kid, anyway.

      Delete
    10. I know. I was making a funny.

      Delete
    11. I always hate it when I come up with a humorous ad lib and it does not work.

      Delete
  55. If a deer hunter uses a buffalo gun is he likely to get more bang for his buck?

    ReplyDelete
  56. This week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from listener Dan Pitt, of Palo Alto, Calif. Think of something in two words (7,5) that you might take camping. The phrase has seven consonants, which are all different and appear in alphabetical order through the phrase. What camping item is this?

    ReplyDelete

For NPR puzzle posts, don't post the answer or any hints that could lead to the answer before the deadline (usually Thursday at 3pm ET). If you know the answer, submit it to NPR, but don't give it away here.

You may provide indirect hints to the answer to show you know it, but make sure they don't assist with solving. You can openly discuss your hints and the answer after the deadline. Thank you.